Quality Results

start with a Quality

Team: The Science

of Team BuildingMary Eure

Laboratory Supervisor

Prince William County Service Authority

What is a Team?

A Team is a group of individuals working together to solve a problem, meet an objective, or tackle an issue.

Team Building is the process of enabling that group of people to reach their goal.

Group versus Team

Group Dynamics: Who are we?

Characteristics of Scientists:

Feist and Gorman Study conducted in 1998

reviewing the psychology of scientists

Bad news and Good news

Why does this matter?

Know your team and encourage them to

know themselves as well.

Personality Tests: Myers Briggs, Emotional

Intelligence, etc.

Role of Leadership on a Team

Three major factors of being a great

leader on a Team:

Credibility

Communication

Coaching

Credibility Hard to gain and easy to lose

Manage your credibility:

Understand others

Attend to the little things

Clarify expectations

Don’t play favorites

Follow through

Communication To express oneself in such a way that one is

readily and clearly understood.

Examples of poor communication

Ways to improve communication

Poor Communication

Individuals attacking personalities or ideas

Constant criticism of other points of view

Displaying anger

Showing contempt

Unwilling to share the workload

Non-participation

Gossip

Way to improve Communication

Active listening

Keep everyone in the loop

Host effective team meetings

Handle team conflicts promptly

Provide recognition

Coaching

A style of management primarily

characterized by asking employees

questions in order to help them fulfill

their immediate responsibilities more

effectively and advance their development

as professionals over time.

Teaching verses Coaching

Coaching

Why is coaching so difficult?

What are the benefits?

Tips:

Match your people’s skills with big-picture needs

Tailor your coaching to match your people’s learning

styles

Give feedback that sticks

Building your Team…

Hiring- Get the right people for the job

Training- Offer an organized program so that success is obviously achievable

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Time-bound

Motivating your Team

Talk TO them, not AT them

Be encouraging

Provide the necessary tools

Avoid micromanagement

Handling Disruptions

Every team will encounter their fair share of disruptions.

The only constant in life is change, especially in our field.

Rarely are disruptions and change within our control, but

the success of our team is dependent on how we handle

these moments.

Compensation/Company policy changes/Regulation

updates

Behavioral Reactions to Change

People who thrive on change

People who are not bothered by change

People who resist change and need time to prepare

People who are concerned with the effects of

change

Teams are made up of all of these types of individuals.

Example 1: 2012 MUR Update

Positives Achievable: Preventative Actions

were written.

Meetings were held with staff explaining the regulation update

Goal was assigned fairly. Every staff member was assigned 3 methods to do a comparison diagram.

Review of status was done routinely because it was built into employee evaluations.

Goal was relevant and staff seemed excited to go outside of their normal routine.

Challenges

Coaching was difficult. (Training)

Difficult to determine how “measurable” the goal was. Different formats and detail was given.

Evaluations are done annually and we needed to know comparisons much sooner. (Time-bound)

Not catered to each individual on the team so it didn’t play up everyone’s strengths.

Example 2: Methanol Project

Positives

Goal and timeline clearly established.

Each member was assigned a very

task within the big picture.

Convinced staff goal was achievable

and in the end they were very proud.

Daily progress meetings

All participated in problem solving

and idea generation

Celebrated the completion of the

project with all of the team

Challenges

Getting everyone on

board that the goal was

achievable.

Example 3: Grubbs Environmental

Center

Positives

We received clarification from DCLS as to what testing would be required for the move

We assigned staff specific areas to evaluate to make sure we had enough supplies to operate in dual locations during the transition.

We did not need to outsource any samples.

We celebrated the successful move with the team and had a follow up meetings.

Challenges

We were at the mercy of the construction and county permits, so the timeline stifled morale.

More meetings were necessary.

Some assignments were not viewed as relevant.

Example 3: The Great

Migration

Tips to help a Team through Change

Host regular team meetings to communicate all of

the details of the project. Be transparent!

Discuss the positive and negative implications.

Provide justification for the change and create a

shared understanding. Allow employees the

opportunity to question, challenge and propose

alternatives in the change process.

Assess potential barriers and resistance

Team Building can lead to… Good communication with participants as team members and

individuals.

All participating in idea generation, problem solving, and decision-making to overcome disruptions/change

Increased department productivity and creativity

Increased motivation by all to achieve goals

Higher levels of job satisfaction and commitment

Higher levels of trust and support

Diverse coworkers working well together and managing conflict appropriately as it arises

Clear work objectives

Better operating policies and procedures

References Harvard Business Review (2015). HBR Guide to Coaching Employees: Give effective feedback, foster steady growth, Motivate star

performers. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.

Cohen, C. & S. Cohen (2012). Lab Dynamics: Management and Leadership skills for Scientists. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

McNamara, Carter. 7 Steps to Successful Team Building. Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/groups/team-building.htm

Lee, Shirley (2012). The 5 P’s of Team Design and Development for Managers. Small Business Information. Retrieved from http://www.smallbusinessdelivered.com/the5psofteamdesignanddevelopmentformanagers.html

Learning Center (2016). How to Build a Team. Retrieved from http://www.learningcenter.net/library/building.shtml

Lee, Shirley (2012). Five Characteristics of a Great Team. Small Business Information. Retrieved from http://www.smallbusinessdelivered.com/fivecharacteristicsofagreatteam.html

Clemmer, Jim (2016). Developing a Team or Organization Vision. Retrieved from http://www.clemmergroup.com/articles/developing-team-organization-vision/

Rasmussen, Tove (2011). 5 Tips on Building an Excellent Team. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/blogs/building-a-business/2011/08/02/top-5-tips-on-building-an-excellent-team/

Clark, Donald (2015). Team Leadership Model. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/team_leadership.html

Liz’s Blog (2011). 7 Steps Get the Best Leadership Thinking from your Team. Retrieved from http://www.successful-blog.com/1/7-steps-get-the-best-leadership-thinking-from-your-team/

UCSF Human Resources. Chapter 14: Team Building. Retrieved from http://ucsfhr.ucsf.edu/index.php/pubs/hrguidearticle/chapter-14-team-building/

Trillium Teams (2016). How Change Affects Teams. Retrieved from

http://www.trilliumteams.com/articles/40/how-change-affects-teams

Holmes, Shelley (2013). Top 5 Employee Motivation Techniques. Retrieved from http://www.makeadentleadership.com/employee-motivation-techniques.html